Kirstens breve - Susan Moody

[goodreads]

Title: Kirstens breve (Letters From Kirsten)
Author: Susan Moody
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 270
Date read: February, 2012

Daniel Farley, a middle-aged architect, drives out to his cabin by the coast of Maine to reflect over his life and marriage. He carries with him a bunch of letters, written by his Danish wife Kirsten, that he accidentally found in the back of her closet. The contents turn out to be a thought-provoking insight in the holiest of privacies.

As he reads the letters, he gets to know completely new sides to Kirsten - despite that they have been married for 28 years - and he has to ask himself... "Have I taken Kirsten for granted?" "Have I done everything to keep the spark alive?" A break seems unavoidable, but not everything is as it seems...

Sometimes heartbreakingly depressing, sometimes equally heartbreakingly hopeful. At times I had to put down the book, because it simply made me too sad to see how two people who obviously loved each other could hurt each other so much, simply because they forgot how to communicate. I kept picking it up again though, because I wanted to know what happened.

There's not much of a plot, because it's not that kind of a book. Instead it's a journey through Daniel's psyche, as he comes to terms with his past, learns to accept his shortcomings and acknowledge his successes.

Probably not a book I'll reread, but I'm glad to have read it.